Couple of responses to questions for my undergrad application.
Your help is really appreciated!! Critique away :)
Describe your most significant leadership experience. Why do you consider this your most significant leadership role?I can still feel the blood in my body rush. I can still smell the excitement that moment offered. I stared at thin air, starry-eyed, shaking in disbelief when I was chosen to be the president of the Environmental Council. Leading my team to achieve Platinum-Eco Certification was crucial. My passion for the environment was now stronger than ever.
Receiving Platinum certification was a rigorous process including a two part audit judging the school's environmental responsibility, energy conservation and waste reduction. Achieving platinum certification could not be accomplished by my efforts alone; but through the mutual efforts of my team, staff, students and the entire school community.
As a team we came up with ways to promote these efforts - through communicating our successes and losses to the school community. We asked for community participation during recycling events, encouraged students to walk to school, created informative plays, videos and displays encouraging sustainable practices.
With the joint efforts of my team, and the entire school community, our school was one of the 57 Eco schools across the Toronto District School Board to receive Platinum Eco Certification. Through our combined efforts we made a difference and helped build a sustainable future.
Describe your most significant group work experience including the role you played and your contributions?What if they don't take this seriously? What if they don't listen? What if something goes wrong? My mind was full of what-if scenarios the morning of the very first MindShift performance. We had spent the past few months planning this day down to the minute, rehearsed every line, and perfected every act. The lights turn off, I hear the opening music. It's show time! I report as Lieutenant Waterworks to the Captain of Spaceship Earth.
MindShift is a play about shifting the culture that we live in and understanding humanity's role and impact on the earth. The play begins with Spaceship Earth in distress. The ship experiences increasing challenges to its life-support systems (water, atmosphere, terrain, health and energy) as it travels through time.
As one of the five life-support systems, I had to work with the other life-support systems to garb the audience and stress the importance of these environmental problems.
Through months of rehearsals and practices, we became a support system for each other on stage - improvising to cover each others mistakes, celebrating our success and supporting each other through hard times. Putting together a successful performance requires great commitment. It is this commitment that establishes lasting relationships within the cast & crew on-stage and off-stage.
Tell us about an experience, in school or out, that caused you to rethink or change your perspective. What impact has this had on you?"If you never step outside the box, all you will ever know is these four walls. And eventually these walls will close in and suffocate you." The words of Jyoti Subramanian echo in my ears to this day. Four years later, as I reflect on that day, I can confidently say that Challenge Day changed my perspective.
November 16, 2009. Challenge Day. It was the day that I first stepped outside of my box. It was the day that I first shared a personal struggle with my peers. It was the day that I listened to some of my peers' struggles for the first time. And it was that day that I realized I wasn't alone. Challenge Day taught me how to open up to others, listen to them, and trust them.
I remember Jyoti saying "Challenge Day begins when you walk out these doors". She was right, when I walked out the doors of the gym that day, I was a changed person. I was no longer confined in the four walls of the box. I was open to share my struggles with others, and help them with theirs.
Tell us more about one of the activities you listed above, explaining what your goals were, what you did to pursue them, the results achieved, and what you learned in the process.As part of Students of Toronto for Environmental Progress (STEP), my goal was to assist in the planning of the Youth Food Summit. The Youth Food Summit was targeted at secondary school students across Toronto, with the goal of raising awareness about food issues affecting our local & global community.
The summit planning was divided into subcommittees (such as workshops, logistics etc). As part of the logistics committee, my main responsibilities were to plan the schedule for the summit, allocate use of resources, organize of third-party volunteers, allocate of budget to different workshops, and reach out to different speakers and sponsors.
I learnt that communication was key in the planning of the summit. For instance, when dealing with scheduling conflicts, it was important to communicate with all the subcommittees to reach a solution.
The summit was a great success with attendance from _ schools across the Toronto District School Board. During the day they had an opportunity to participate in four workshops: the industrial food system, gardening, cooking and activism.
The Youth Food Summit was STEP's biggest project to date. Inspired from the success of the summit, STEP is currently planning a Do-It-Yourself Summit hoping to reach out to even more students this time.
